BROOKFIELD, Wis., Sep 06, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Thirty-four members of the high school graduating Class of 2006 have been awarded a total of $50,000 in college grants thanks to the Fiserv EFT ACCEL/Exchange Network and its Education Exchange college grant program. The program, established in 1994, has helped ACCEL/Exchange Network members recognize, honor and assist hardworking and academically talented students as they further their education and prepare for their careers.

High school seniors are selected from across the country to share Education Exchange grant awards provided by the ACCEL/Exchange Network. From an initial pool of thousands of applicants, four $5,000 grants and 30 $1,000 grants are offered each year based upon scholastic achievement, volunteerism and extracurricular activities, character and leadership, essay responses and financial need.

This year's $5,000 grant recipients were Molly Kate Bohlke of Long Beach, Miss.; Brandi George of Orlando, Fla.; Neeraj Nagarajan of Tamuning, Guam; and Rudy Ramirez of Tulare, Calif.

Bohlke, sponsored by Keesler Federal Credit Union, is a graduate of Long Beach High School where she was class valedictorian, a member of the National Honor Society and editor of the Bearcat Chronicle, the Long Beach High School newspaper. She was also president of the Spanish Honor Society and a member of Mu Alpha Theta, the math honor society, and Beta Club. Bohlke will attend Millsaps College.

George was sponsored by Central Florida Educators Credit Union and graduated from William R. Boone High School. She was a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta. She is extremely dedicated to gymnastics and has been captain of her Level 10 team for the past two years. George will pursue her education at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Nagarajan was sponsored by the Bank of Guam. He is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School where he was class valedictorian, an AP Scholar, a member of the National Honor Society and National Honor Roll and was listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students. He was also the editor of the student newspaper, captain of the Tennis Team and Academic Challenge Bowl and president of the Mock Trial Club, Band Club and Debate Club. Nagarajan will pursue a degree in engineering at Princeton University.

Ramirez, sponsored by Tucoemas Federal Credit Union, is a graduate of Tulare Western High School where he was vice president of the Rotary and Interact Clubs, listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students and a participant in the Lead America Congressional Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. Ramirez will pursue his career goals in international studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

About Fiserv EFT and ACCEL/Exchange

ACCEL/Exchange is one of the nation's premier electronic funds transfer (EFT) networks, providing the infrastructure for member financial institutions to provide their customers with anytime, anywhere access to their demand deposit accounts. ACCEL is the network's POS mark and Exchange its ATM brand. Both offerings provide comprehensive EFT services and the regional, national and international coverage clients require.

Owned and operated by Fiserv EFT, a renowned innovator and leader in the EFT marketplace, ACCEL/Exchange is a comprehensive ATM and POS network that maintains industry-leading authorization rates and around-the-clock network switch availability. The value inherent in ACCEL/Exchange has made it one of the fastest growing EFT networks in operation. ACCEL/Exchange transactions are currently enabled at 150,000 ATMs and approximately 4.5 million POS devices nationwide.

About Fiserv Inc

Fiserv Inc. (Nasdaq:FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management systems and services to the financial and health benefits industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing, software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 17,000 clients worldwide and is the leading provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2005 and 2004 FinTech 100 surveys. Fiserv Health provides health plan management, pharmacy benefits management and BPO services to the managed care market and self-funded commercial and government employers and health plans. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported more than $4 billion in total revenue for 2005. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.

SOURCE: Fiserv Inc.

Fiserv EFT
Kevin Gregoire, 973-682-5755
or
Fiserv, Inc.
Mike Muckian, 262-879-5667

Copyright Business Wire 2006

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